SERMON, PROPER 6B

The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground . . . and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.

Or the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which, when sown, becomes a great bush.

The kingdom of God is like a seed. Most seeds are small and unassuming. You put them in the ground, cover them with dirt, water them, and hopefully they grow into a plant that produces more of whatever it was you planted.

My grandmother could grow anything. On my honeymoon, we brought back the leaf of a "Love Plant" from the Caribbean -- to Seattle. That thing grew bunches and she had it for years. As a kid, I remember her house and yard filled with plants of all kinds; it was really amazing.

I think what made it amazing is that the ability to grow things is not genetic. My mother had only one plant that she could grow. I think the real reason it grew was that it simply couldn't be killed. She accidentally left it outside and froze it, and it still grew. The one thing she didn't do, though, was ignore it.

I don't know how plants work. You put the seed in the ground and it grows into something much bigger. Jesus is saying that this is what the kingdom of God is like -- like a tiny seed that sprouts and grows into something much bigger, and we know not how. A seed is so small and unassuming, but it has the power to change the landscape.

Like the Word of God. The Word, according to John, is Jesus; one man, one word, one seed, so small and unassuming, but with the power to change the landscape. The kingdom of God is like a seed that grows into something bigger.

The kingdom of God is like a seed that grows into a crop or a large plant. You can easily see the analogy: one seed, one man; a crop, the church. But if that's the only thing we hear in today's gospel, then we are missing something vitally important.

Hear this again: "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground . . . It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground . . ." Yes, the kingdom of God is like a seed, but seeds don't do much of anything unless we plant them.

This is the most important piece of the gospel, the kingdom of God is like a seed, but it requires that we sow the seed. It requires that we work. It requires that we open up that pack of seeds, put them in the ground, and tend to them. It requires that we make an honest effort. The seeds will grow, we know not how, but it starts with us planting and working.

The kingdom of God is not a magic kindom where everything is sugar and spice and everything nice; nor is it a kingdom where a benevolent Big Daddy Warbucks steps in and takes care of our every need. God makes the seed grow, but we are the ones who must plant that seed. In other words, we can't simply paint the doors red and expect the Episcopalians to show up.

We need seed ideas for programs and events. We need seed money to fund both those new ideas and current expenses. We can't, for instance, offer a weekly movie discussion if we can't pay our electric bill. And we need people willing to sow those seeds; which means two things.

First, it means that there needs to be a shift in priorities which moves us from simply being a Sunday-morning Church to a daily community. We need to see this place as active and vital and worth working for everyday.

Second, we need to understand that it is us who are going to support those activities. Just like we need to pay for water, fertilizer and other things for the seeds, we need to be willing to pay for the tools that will help us to nurture those activities, those seeds, into a healthy crop.

Whether we are like my grandmother, with lots and lots of plants of all kinds, or whether we are like my mother who could only grow one plant well, we have to make the effort to sow the seeds. We have to pull our seeds out of the bag, scatter them, and care for them. God will see to it that the seeds grow, but it is up to us to start the process.

Otherwise, those seeds will simply wither up and die.